Haywire Review

Rated R (Some Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 33 Minutes

Cast-

Gina Carano-Mallory Kane

Michael Fassbender-Paul

Ewan McGregor-Kenneth

Channing Tatum-Aaron

Michael Douglas-Oliver Coblenz

Antonio Banderas-Rodrigo

Bill Paxton-John Kane

Michael Angarano-Scott

Mathieu Kassovitz-Studer

Anthony Brandon Wong-Jiang

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

You don't wanna piss Gina Carano off.

Better watch out because it looks like there’s a new action heroine in town and her name’s Gina Carano! For those of you unfamiliar with her, Carano is a retired mixed martial arts fighter who is making her film debut in Steven Soderbergh’s action spy thriller “Haywire.” Soderbergh made a splash at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival in France with his debut film “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” which not only won the prestigious Palme d'Or award but also revolutionized the independent film industry. His varied filmography clearly shows his versatility as a director, easily alternating between mainstream works such as 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven” to more arthouse fare such as 2009’s “The Girlfriend Experience.” Even when working with familiar genres, Soderbergh often injects his own stylistic flair in a way that makes his films feel fresh and exciting. This is the case with “Haywire,” an action film that manages to rise above its pedestrian story-telling thanks to its impeccable ensemble cast, tight pacing, and brutally realistic fight choreography. 

Opening in media res, a young woman named Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) is sitting in an upstate New York diner when a man suddenly sits down in front of her. She recognizes him as Aaron (Channing Tatum), who orders her to get in his car but Mallory refuses. The two engage in a brutal fistfight with Aaron gaining the upper-hand until a customer named Scott (Michael Angarano) intervenes. Mallory immediately takes Aaron’s gun and knocks him unconscious. Taking Scott hostage, she orders him to give up his keys to his car in order to escape from Aaron. As Scott bandages her wound, Mallory reveals that she was a freelance agent hired by the United States Government for jobs where plausible deniability is required. The film rewinds back to a week earlier in Washington DC where government agent Oliver Coblenz (Michael Douglas) and his Spanish contact Rodrigo (Antonio Banderas) are hashing out the details for a covert rescue operation in Barcelona with Mallory’s superior Kenneth (Ewan McGregor). Coblenz insists on having Mallory take on the job as she is the best operative but Kenneth is initially hesitant. He finally relents and agrees to free up her crowded schedule. In Barcelona, Mallory meets up with her team which includes Aaron. Their goal is to rescue a Chinese political dissident named Jiang (Anthony Brandon Wong), who is currently being held hostage in an apartment building. They recon the area and learn that they have a four minute window where Jiang’s kidnapper leaves the building. The rescue does not go as planned as the kidnapper comes back sooner than expected and sees them leaving. He opens fire and tries to escape but Mallory corners him in an alleyway where she easily beats him into submission. Jiang is handed over to Rodrigo safe and sound. With another job done, Mallory heads home to San Diego with the intention of quitting Kenneth’s company but he offers her one last assignment where she will be paired with a British agent named Paul (Michael Fassbender) and pose as a married couple in Dublin. However, the mission is all a ruse as Mallory eventually discovers that she is being set up, forcing her to go rogue in order to discover the truth. 

As an action spy thriller “Haywire” is straightforward and pedestrian even by Soderbergh’s standards but he maintains a tight pace by stripping the story down to its bare essentials. By presenting the first half as an extended flashback narrated by Mallory, the film is freed from needless exposition or any other extraneous material that can throw off its momentum. Like the main character, the audience is kept in the dark until the very end and this is an effective way of keeping viewers actively engaged without resorting to traditional means of story-telling. The film does struggle when it comes to balancing the plot with the action but writer Lem Dobbs manages to cover up any short-comings by providing enough context rather than letting the fights simply exist as an excuse to showcase Carano’s talents for ass-kicking. While the script is ultimately somewhat derivative and offers few surprises, Soderbergh utilizes an unconventional style that lends “Haywire” an experimental vibe. The cinematography and editing can best be described as erratic but this is intentional and reflects the changing circumstances that Mallory often faces without warning. A shaky handheld camera is used for one scene while certain shots appear as either black-and-white or with the lighting overexposed and the colors de-saturated. Sometimes a seemingly random assortment of shots are edited together in order to emphasize the tension and paranoia that Mallory feels. David Holmes’ addictive score recalls 1970’s action cinema with its jazzy ambience and noir-like overtones. 

Of course, the highlight of the film is the brutal fight scenes and even these are unique because Soderbergh does not try to amp them up with loud music or quick editing. The only sounds heard are the grunts of exertion from the combatants and the camera never becomes an obstacle like in so many glossy Hollywood productions. Even better is the fact there were no digital enhancements, wire-work, or even stunt doubles used. What you see is what you get and this is the way all fight scenes should be: intense but also grounded in reality. However, if you’ve seen your fair share of Hong Kong martial arts films such as the ones staring Donnie Yen or Sammo Hung, than this is nothing new. Seeing Carano trade blows with Michael Fassbender or Ewan McGregor is immensely satisfying and there’s even a bit of a sexual component to how it’s presented, especially when she uses her thighs in a chokehold. Chase scenes are cleanly staged with long-tracking shots of people running from one end to another before cutting to the next frame. Holmes’ jazzy beats accompany the Barcelona chase as Mallory runs in pursuit of Jiang’s kidnapper. Some viewers may find it lacking in excitement but Soderbergh is nothing if not unorthodox even when he is working on what is a mainstream film. 

The large ensemble cast does not allow every actor to really flesh out their characters but their performances are nuanced enough to offset that flaw. Soderbergh relates in an anecdote that he first took notice of Gina Carano while watching mixed martial arts on television after being fired from a film, ‘which happens’ as he dryly noted. For a first timer, Carano is adequate but can come off flat in her line deliveries and you can tell that Soderbergh tries hard to compensate by often pairing her with more experienced actors. She can obviously handle herself in a fight scene and despite being built like an ox, she is still very attractive. As for whether or not her voice was dubbed, Carano admitted that it was ‘tweaked’ in post-production and I did notice something off about the way she sounded but honestly, it is not that big of a deal. Soderbergh remarked in an interview that he wanted her voice ‘to sound different—not like Gina, but like her character, Mallory Kane.’ 

Released on January 20, 2012, “Haywire” has received largely positive reviews with 83% on Rotten Tomatoes as critics hailed it as ‘a fast and spare thriller, with cleanly staged set pieces that immerse you in the action.’ This is unusual given the fact that films released during the first two months of the year rarely garner such a reception. Unfortunately, audiences weren’t as enamored with the film like critics as it has a dismal D+ CinemaScore and flopped during opening weekend with a mere domestic gross of $8.4 million. I am confident that it will earn back its estimated $25 million production budget but just barely. Why did this happen? Audiences are a fickle bunch and do not like to be ‘misled’ as the initial previews seemed to indicate that it had non-stop action. Interestingly, Soderbergh experienced a similar predicament with the 2002 science fiction film “Solaris” based upon Stanisław Lem’s 1961 Polish novel of the same name. Even in his more mainstream efforts, he can’t even seem to catch a break but Soderbergh has never paid much heed to box office earnings as makes films because he’s passionate about them, which says a lot in today’s increasingly commercialized climate in Hollywood. This is one instance where the word-of-mouth is just plain wrong and while it may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to its story, “Haywire” offers up enough style and fisticuffs for those who truly appreciate the way Soderbergh has taken a familiar genre and made it his own.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

“You can tell me right now why you sold me out, or you can tell me when I have my hands around your throat.”